Friday, January 20, 2012

As I was updating my list of books – a couple of new additions as I told you a while ago – I kept thinking of ways to make it more functional and interesting: therefore, I’ve changed it a bit. I hope you all like it.

Oh, aside from books, there is cake here today, too – and it is absolutely divine. :)

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter two 22x12cm (9x5in) loaf pans*.
In a large bowl, beat butter, dulce de leche, brown sugar, and granulated sugar with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon; beat again until combined.
Transfer batter to prepared pans, smooth out the tops, and bake until loaves turn a deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 60 to 75 minutes. Set aside to cool in pans about 45 minutes; then carefully unmold onto rack. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

* I’ve made this recipe twice, using different pans: I halved the recipe above and used a 25x10cm (10x4in) loaf pan and I made 2/3 of the recipe above using a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan. In both cases the cake sunk a bit in the middle; according to Dan Lepard – I cannot tell you how much I’m enjoying his "Short and Sweet" – that happened because the batter needed more flour, so next time I make this cake (and there will be a next time, because it is so delicious) I’ll increase the flour amount

16 comments:

So when cakes sank in the middle they needed more flour? This is a revelation to me...so many thanks!!! I always thought it was a problem in the cooking method... so a batter not properly cooked deflated once out of the oven. But I need to try hands on now!Thanks (this cake looks like heaven)Martina

I can't let my husband see this. I made dulce de leche for him last month and since then he has been obsessed with all things dulce de leche. Last night he asked me to make some dulce de leche cheesecake bars this weekend. If he sees this, I BET he'll request it too. I am saving this recipe so I can make it for him soon. Probably Valentine's Day. He'll fall in love again for sure!

Oh I am so envious of your cookbook collection, I have probably about 4 of them (mostly Bill Granger) This cake looks delicious but I don't think I've ever seen dulce de leche in a shop where I live (Adelaide, Sth Aust)

Sounds absolutely yummy and would like to make right away. You mention that next time you will increase the flour to compensate for the sinking. Did you already add this additional flour to the recipe? Or how much additional flour do you think is necessary? Sage advice please. :-)

Martina, a very hot oven may cause the cake to deflate, too - since I controlled the temperature all the time I believe that in this case it was the flour factor.

Anilou, you can boil a can of sweetened condensed milk for 40 minutes in a pressure cooker (with lots of water) - the result is dulce de leche. But it's a dangerous procedure, be careful. The can has to be completely cool before you open it.

Ccnballi, I did not add the additional flour to the recipe. It will depend on which pan you choose - for the loaf pan I would add 1/2 cup of flour and see what happens.

What a great pound cake, I´m dying to make it! And it has brown sugar which probably makes the flavor even better. A good way to avoid the sinking middle, besides adding more flour, is to make smaller cakes, like mini loaves.